Bojangles Restaurants Inc., the chicken-and-biscuits restaurant chain, has tapped banks to pursue an initial public offering that could value it at nearly $1 billion, according to people familiar with the talks.

The Charlotte-based company, which has around 600 locations, is working with banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo & Co., Jefferies Group LLC, Barclays PLC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Piper Jaffray Cos. on the deal, the people said.